Law Students
Harvard Changes Financial Aid Work Rule Due to Law Firm Summer Program Cuts
Posted Jun 17, 2009, 03:02 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Traditionally, students receiving financial aid from Harvard Law School are expected to help themselves by working 10 weeks over the summer.
But due to slashed summer programs at many major law firms this year, a substantial number of Harvard students found out only at the last minute that they wouldn't be working as long--or making as much--as they expected this summer. Originally, the law school said those who didn't put in a full 10 weeks as summer associates would have to appeal individually the financial aid reduction that would be made as a result. Now, however, it is reportedly relenting.
In a statement provided by an unidentified law school financial aid office "spokesperson" to Above the Law, Harvard says it is only requiring law students to work eight weeks this summer.
The policy change, it appears, may have been based in part on a better overall financial picture than law school administrators had initially feared:
"We didn't initially promise to reduce our work requirement to eight weeks because we weren't sure our grant budget could absorb the cost without impacting other areas of our need-based aid program," the spokesperson writes, explaining that Harvard had intended to use the appeal process to figure out who needed more financial aid the most. "However, now that we've reviewed enough aid applications to understand the scope of summer job reductions, we have decided we can move to a reduced eight-week requirement this summer."